Burgers have had it good for a while, but there's a new trend in town that's rivalling them for new openings. Restaurants focused on chicken have been steadily increasing in popularity, although right now it's a trend more skewed towards North and East London.
We started out with Mark Hix at Tramshed which had just two main courses, chicken and steak, on the menu. Then there came two chicken spots in Kentish Town alone - the launch of Soho House's rotisserie joint Chicken Shop and the quieter launch of Los Pollos - a peri-peri chicken joint on Kentish Town Road. South of the river there's Wishbone from one of the people behind MEATliquor which will open in October in Brixton Market. Meanwhile, on the street there's the SpitandRoast van touring London's markets.
Now comes news of another chicken joint, once again in North London, but this time in historically restaurant-challenged Muswell Hill.
Chooks which opens this month, will serve up grilled and fried chicken, along with subs and salads. There'll be 80 covers, and all dishes can also be takeaways. Diners can choose between a quarter chicken (£4.95), half (£6.95) and whole (£12.95) with a choice of marinades including spicy, super spicy buffalo or all American BBQ. There'll also be the now ubiquitous Buttermilk Fried Chicken, served here with mash and gravy (£11.95), or a Chicken Tray Dinner to share with half a grilled chicken, half Buttermilk, pickles, chooks beans with melted cheese and crispy onion rings (£19.95).
Subs will include the Chooks Philly - shredded chicken, cheese sauce, pickled jalapenos, sautéed mushrooms and gravy (£7.95) and the Zucchini Farm with crispy zucchini strips, fontina cheese, sweet onions, jalapeno mayo and parsley (£6.95). Or you can plump for a salad with the option to add in chicken. Friday nights will be Rib Night when they'll broaden the range to include baby back ribs available by the half and full rack, served with slaw and fries.
Starters and sides will run from chicken wings, fried pickles, Chook’s baked beans, paella rice and corn on the cob with chilli butter, lime and parmesan. Drinks will include jam jar frozen margaritas (natch) and a extremely honed wine list of just four wines - one red, one white, one rosé and fizz from Chapel Down.
It's the brainchild of Gideon Joffe, who's the owner of Chez Bob in Belsize Park and MonkeyNuts in Crouch End and also happens to be the son of Juliette and Russel Joffe, founders of Giraffe Restaurants.
Chooks will open late September at 43 The Broadway, Muswell Hill and will be open seven days a week from 11am to 11-pm. Follow them on Twitter @chookschickens
